Barleywine Appreciation Thread (2022)

This was yummy!

 

A very good beer. This was one of a handful that was not discontinued and has been on shelves throughout the brewery reorganization. At the $11-12 a four pack it becomes a great bargain too.

Glad you went back and are enjoying this beer.

Enjoy

 

Question: What do you do when you just got done working a 15 hour day, need to sleep, and will get up tomorrow and work another 15 hour day? Why, open a 15.1% barleywine to pour 4-8oz from. Of course.

Coffee Barleywine. I remember this beer fresh. It was quite delicious. To be honest, I don't really recall how the coffee melded with the BW, i just remember enjoying it. Well, I can say that here and now the coffee hasn't fallen off - actually, I think it has gotten stronger. It has some stout-like characteristics, and I actually wish the coffee took a little bit more of a backseat right now. Ah, such is life. I'm still enjoying, and will drink this tonight and tomorrow.

 

Samichlaus Schwarzes
https://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/285/132899/
I drank my last bottle of this a few hours ago. Is this really a barleywine?

 

I just hope you aren’t being exploited at work. Back to back 15 hours days…I hope that is just a short term blip.

 

I appreciate the concern! To a degree it is my own choosing. In some works of hypotheticals I could probably request to work 10-12 hour days, and also request 1 day off each week that I am away from home. But, in this specific case this means that I make extra money, so I am trying to make hay while the sun is shining. I do not make time and a half for overtime, since I am a full time employee, but I do make my effective hourly rate. While this will not always be something I want to do (work this much), it is a necessity at this point in our life. Our daughter is just shy of 2.5, and we have managed to keep her out of daycare, which we value (not that there is anything wrong with it for those that do). But, in order to be able to afford having my wife home more - and me to have the flexibility to “switch off” on days when my wife does work, it means I have to take some of these extended trips and work as much as I can.

In all honesty, these type of extended days are a little bit of a rarity. They do not happen all the time. Often you may only get 8-10 a day. So, if I can get 13-16 a day, I am going to try to do my best to take advantage of the situation. I could get a little more, but I am trying hard to make sure we prioritize sleep, because this work can be dangerous.

 

Christmas in June. Still one of my favorite beers. 7.5% ABV. English yeast, fruity, herbal hops.

 

Winter Ale/Warmer = Old Ale or Barleywine...but not this one. I think it's more appropriate for the Imperial Stout thread.


Absolutely phenomenal!


Cheers!

 

Cycle Brewing Sunday

I was gifted this bottle by a generous BA by the name of @bl00. I meant to open over the holidays, but todays relatively cold and dreary, plus it’s Sunday, so now seems as good a time as any.

The beer pours a dark amber-brown color with a thin mocha cap that quickly settles into a messy and lasting crown.

Raisin, plum, cocoa, leather and gasoline fumes stand out in the nose. There are flashes of toffee or caramel, but it’s fairly dry smelling in comparison to other contemporary examples of the style.

The taste has a much more prominent toffee, caramel and vanilla sweetness than the aroma. The sweetness is compounded by an almost jammy plum fruitiness and some juicy raisin. It’s cut only by some faint burnt cocoa and the very strong alcohol.

Very sticky, chewy feel with light, tight carbonation.

Delicious overall, albeit very sweet. The fruitiness in this seems almost quad-like at times. A real pleasure. Thanks, Dan!

 

Last crowler of Winter Warlock. Held onto longer than crowlers are meant but it didn’t suffer much, and played real nice with a dose of whiskey.

 

Fletcher’s “philosophy and methods” + contemplations on decoction integration -

How Anchorage’s Gabe Fletcher Packs Character into Barrel-Aged Barleywine | Craft Beer & Brewing (beerandbrewing.com)

 

Fletcher touches on this, by suggesting poor quality/sourcing; nonetheless, hints at reintroducing “more Cognac in the future”…perhaps another Brett infused (take on) barleywine as well

 

I know some people like this, but that is so far out of my wheelhouse. Brett. Nope.

 

I had a pour of this just over a week ago at the taproom. It was ok but seemed simple. The flavors except for the booze may have faded.

 

Flesher’s approach seemingly had no impact, aside from an inflated – secondary – levy

Would be curious if decoction has any benefit, other than marketing, if pursued

 

Regular or barrel aged? I had a crowler of reg left that I amped up but see they have the ba version on now.